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Juvenile Delinquency Unit
Juvenile Investigators assigned to Delinquency work all crimes committed by juveniles from the misdemeanor assaults, harassment, and theft related crimes. Also worked are the more serious felony offenses, like felony assaults, thefts, etc. In other criminal investigation units you have different investigators specializing in certain types of crimes, for example; burglary, robbery, narcotics or arson. A Juvenile Delinquency Investigator has to work all types of crimes, where the only deciding factor is the age of the juvenile or the adult. A juvenile is considered anyone under the age of 18 years who has not been certified as an adult by an adult court. The Investigator interviews all witnesses and suspects in the case, processes and collects evidence when necessary, and prepares the cases for prosecution, either at the Juvenile Court level or the Circuit/District Court level. Juvenile Division also works with other agencies, such as the Department of Human Resources and the Juvenile Court’s Probation Office. In addition, the unit assist s other criminal investigative divisions with cases they may be working that might have a juvenile element involved in crimes with adults; such as Homicide, West Alabama Narcotics and the Criminal Investigation Divisions of other law enforcement agencies. Sex Crimes/ Abuse Unit The Sex Crimes/Abuse Unit is a special unit that investigates juveniles who are victims of physical and sexual abuse, as well as victims of neglect. Investigators assigned to the Sex Crimes/ Abuse Unit are responsible for investigating crimes against juveniles under the age of sixteen. This includes, but is not limited to, forcible rape, sodomy, and various other sexual assaults. Abuse investigators need to be specially trained for these types of investigations. Successful interviewing techniques are vastly different from how one would interview an adult, to how one would interview a child. Some of these victims who are interviewed can be very young at times. These investigators need to be able to build a relationship with such victims that will insure the prosecution of the perpetrator in a court room setting. We conduct many of these investigations along with the Department of Human Resources. In some cases the child is interviewed at the Tuscaloosa Children’s Center, a house which is set up primarily to assist in the interviewing and handling of these types of cases. Gang Suppression Unit Between 1992 and 1996 there were approximately 12 gang related homicides in Tuscaloosa County. Gang members range in age from 12 to 24 years old. There has been an increasingly number of juveniles participating in gang activity, as well as non- delinquents who have shown an interest in joining the gangs, in significant numbers in the same time frame. Historically, street gangs contribute to both a rise in juvenile delinquency and violent/ drug related crimes in a given community. The Gang Suppression Unit was formed in 1990 by the Tuscaloosa Police Department to investigate and combat gang related incidences in Tuscaloosa County. Originally the unit was under the West Alabama Narcotics Squad’s command. In 1992, the unit was moved to the Tuscaloosa County Juvenile Division when it was determined that the larger number of the gang members were under the age of 21. The Sheriff's Office now has personnel assigned to the unit. The responsibilities of this unit include gathering all intelligence on local gangs and their members, work criminal cases against the gang members, conduct suppressive efforts against the gangs, assist local divisions and outside agencies with cases that could be gang related, and educate the public about measures they can take to help combat gang activity.
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